CRITICAL REFLECTION FOR CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

using the SOAP strategy to analyze pedagogical experience

Padmini BoruahDepartment of English Language Teaching

Gauhati University23.02.2014

Reflection

• Definition: recording and analysis of

experience

• Includes: experiencing, observing,

analyzing, hypothesizing and application

• Requires: self knowledge, meta cognition,

hypothesization, synthesis of experience

Models of reflection

• Bloom’s taxonomy of reflection (1956): Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, Creating

• David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model (1976): Concrete experience, Observation and reflection, Formation of abstract concepts, Testing in new situations

• Gibb’s reflective cycle (1988): Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, Action Plan

The SOAP Strategy • Subjective narration• Objective data and observation• Assessment• Planning

Imp difference: Includes inputs from others

(From the UCSF LEaP Guidelines developed by

Aronson L, Kruidering M, Neihaus B, O’Sullivan P. MedEdPortal; 2012, available from: www.mededportal.org/publication/9073)

The acronym: SOAP– Subjective: exploring your experience - your

thoughts, feelings, and perception of events

– Objective: incorporating inputs from others, additional research

– Assessment: analyzing the experience to integrate the subjective and objective data, so that it leads to new understanding and more focused learning goals

– Plan: evolving an action plan that is specific, detailed, achievable and measureable

Step 1: Subjective (narration)

• Describe what happened : the events, your thoughts and feelings (content)

• Describe how it happened: how you acted, how students acted, what went well, what didn’t (pedagogical process)

• Discuss why it happened: what were your assumptions, what were your students’ assumptions, how did the physical / linguistic / social environment contribute to it (context)

Step 2: Objective interpretation

Reconsider the experience and identify key issues

• by eliciting opinions, perspectives and feedback from other professionals (colleagues / peers)

• by consulting objective data from the literature

Step 3: Assessment

• Analyze the data gathered from subjective experience and objective inputs

• Synthesize the learning obtained

• Identify strengths and weaknesses

• Relate this experience to past experiences to identify patterns and challenges

Step 4: Plan

Make a SMART plan

• Specific next steps

• Measurable goals

• Attainable objectives

• Relevant action

• Timely intervention

Language of reflective questions

• Vague generalizations– I need to give proper instructions

• Specific comments– The pair work activity took more time than

planned – I should have given instructions before giving away the worksheets and made students repeat instructions; this would have made students do it quickly

Statements about teacher beliefs

1 Good teaching involves explaining the lesson to students; they would otherwise not understand what it contains

2 Pair and group work sounds like a good idea; but try it in your own classroom – it’s noisy, messy and unmanageable

3 Reading aloud has many benefits; when the teacher reads aloud, students get an opportunity to hear the spoken form of the language. When students read, they get pronunciation practice.

Statements about teacher beliefs

4 English classrooms are unbelievably large and noisy – there’s no question of using an activity based approach to develop language skills

5 It’s okay to talk about developing the language skills (LSRW) at Primary level; but after that, students are expected to use these skills, not learn them.

6 Many things can go wrong in a class – I can’t possibly take care of everything that doesn’t work – I don’t think a good class is my responsibility alone.

Statements about teacher beliefs7 No matter what people say, I still feel formal

grammar teaching is important; if we only focus on fluency, chances are that students will always speak and write ungrammatically.

8 My students know so little English that I need to translate every sentence, every word into the local language – the syllabus has to be finished - where’s the time for special language activities?

Statements about teacher beliefs

9 Most of my students understand English, but cannot speak or write it. Making them pass exams is my responsibility, so I cannot afford to let them write whatever they like. I dictate answers and make students memorize them – this way they learn at least a few sentences in English.

10 Frankly, my own English is not very good – so it is better to use the local language to teach English – at least I can make them understand the lesson.

Demonstrating SOAP

Types of statements for SOAP steps

Practising SOAP reflection

Practising SOAP reflection

Tips for effective reflection

• Pick an experience that evoked a strong emotional reaction in you.

• In your subjective analysis, avoid making excuses for your actions and do not indulge in self pity or self-congratulation.

• Adopt an attitude of suspended judgment until you get more data

Tips for effective reflection

• Follow every step because this is a cyclic process, and each step builds from the previous

• Work with an open mind, so that you can accept a new perspective and a new set of skills or attitudes.

• Remember that the aim of critical reflection is professional development, not writing a good narrative or advertising your skills

Thank you!